HOWARD — Bellefonte Area High School came up big as the Centre County Conservation District held its 38th annual Envirothon competition for local high school students on April 26 at Bald Eagle State Park.
The Envirothon is an outdoor environmental education competition for high school students. Five-member teams take a comprehensive exam as they rotate through a circuit of five stations.
The five stations in the 2023 competition were: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife and adapting to a changing climate. The team that accumulates the highest total score wins the county competition and will move on to the Pennsylvania Envirothon on May 24, 2023 at Camp Mount Luther in Mifflinburg.
A total of 10 high school teams from Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte and Penns Valley participated in the Envirothon. The winning team was from Bellefonte Area High School, earning a total of 360 points. The winning team members are Allison Berkey, Evan Spigelmyer, Landon Simpson, Taryn Wagner and Trenton Haagen. Faculty advisors for the team are Myken Poorman and Dan Sharp.
Helping with the Envirothon were representatives from the PA Fish and Boat Commission, PA Game Commission, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – Bureau of Forestry, United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Centre County Conservation District. During the event, the students enjoyed an informative presentation on wildlife rehabilitation by Robyn Graboski of Centre Wildlife Care. She showcased several animals from her organization, including a box turtle, a big brown bat, a barn owl, a red-tailed hawk and a striped skunk.
